This article is about a list of wrestlers who have held the current WWE Championship. For a list of wrestlers who have held the now-retired "World Heavyweight Championship", see List of World Heavyweight Champions. For a list of current title holders in WWE, see List of current champions in WWE.
Two-time and current champion AJ Styles
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE, currently on the SmackDown brand. It is the first world title established in WWE, having been introduced in 1963 as the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) World Heavyweight Championship. The promotion was renamed World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979 and ended its affiliation with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1983, with the title also renamed to reflect the changes. In 2001, it was unified with the World Championship (formerly the WCW World Heavyweight Championship) following the WWF's buyout of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and became the Undisputed WWF Championship. In 2002, the WWF was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and split its roster into two brands, Raw and SmackDown. The title, now renamed WWE Championship, was then designated to the SmackDown brand while WWE established an alternate world title known as the World Heavyweight Championship for the Raw brand. A third alternate world title, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, was reactivated for the ECW brand in 2006. It was vacated and decommissioned when the ECW brand disbanded in 2010.
When WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated World Heavyweight Champion John Cena at the TLC pay-per-view on December 15, 2013, the World Heavyweight Championship was unified with the WWE Championship, resulting in the retiring of the former and the renaming of the latter to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. On June 27, 2016, the name was shortened back to the WWE Championship before assuming the WWE World Championship name on July 26, when the brand extension returned. It became designated to the SmackDown brand and WWE again established an alternate world title known as the WWE Universal Championship for the Raw brand. In December 2016, WWE again shortened the title's name back to WWE Championship.
The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition. Some reigns were held by champions using a ring name, while others use their real name. The first champion was Buddy Rogers, who won the championship in 1963. The champion with the single longest reign is Bruno Sammartino with a reign of 2,803 days, while the record for longest combined reign is also held by Sammartino at 4,040. The current champion is AJ Styles, who is in his second reign. He won the championship by defeating Chris Jericho on SmackDown in Manchester, England on November 7, 2017.
Overall, there have been 49 different official champions, with John Cena having the most reigns at thirteen. Seven men in history have held the championship for a continuous reign of one year (365 days) or more: Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, John Cena and CM Punk.
Title history[]
Names[]
| Name | Years |
|---|---|
| WWWF World Heavyweight Championship | April 25, 1963 – February 8, 1971 |
| WWWF Heavyweight Championship | February 8, 1971 – March 1, 1979 |
| WWF Heavyweight Championship | March 1, 1979 – December 26, 1983 |
| WWF World Heavyweight Championship | December 26, 1983 – June 29, 1998 |
| WWF Championship | June 29, 1998 – December 9, 2001 |
| Undisputed WWF Championship | December 9, 2001 – May 6, 2002 |
| Undisputed WWE Championship | May 6, 2002 – May 19, 2002 |
| WWE Undisputed Championship | May 19, 2002 – September 2, 2002 |
| WWE Championship | September 2, 2002 – December 15, 2013 |
| WWE World Heavyweight Championship | December 15, 2013 – June 27, 2016 |
| WWE Championship | June 27, 2016 – July 25, 2016 |
| WWE World Championship | July 26, 2016 – December 9, 2016 |
| WWE Championship | December 10, 2016 – present |
Reigns[]
As of April 19, 2024.
| Reign | The reign number for the specific champion listed |
|---|---|
| Event | The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title was won |
| † | Indicates the title change is not recognized by WWE |
| + | Indicates the current reign is changing daily |
| <1 | Indicates reign was less than a day |
| No. | Champion | Reign | Date | Days held | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buddy Rogers | 1 | April 25, 1963 | 22 | — |
| 2 | Bruno Sammartino | 1 | May 17, 1963 | 2,803 | House show |
| 3 | Ivan Koloff | 1 | January 18, 1971 | 21 | House show |
| 4 | Pedro Morales | 1 | February 8, 1971 | 1,027 | House show |
| 5 | Stan Stasiak | 1 | December 1, 1973 | 9 | House show |
| 6 | Bruno Sammartino | 2 | December 10, 1973 | 1,237 | House show |
| 7 | Superstar Billy Graham | 1 | April 30, 1977 | 296 | House show |
| 8 | Bob Backlund | 1 | February 20, 1978 | 2,135 | House show |
| — | Vacated | — | December 6, 1979 | — | House show |
| 9 | The Iron Sheik | 1 | December 26, 1983 | 28 | House show |
| 10 | Hulk Hogan | 1 | January 23, 1984 | 1,474 | House show |
| 11 | André the Giant | 1 | February 5, 1988 | <1 | The Main Event I |
| — | Vacated | — | February 5, 1988 | — | The Main Event I |
| 12 | Randy Savage | 1 | March 27, 1988 | 371 | WrestleMania IV |
| 13 | Hulk Hogan | 2 | April 2, 1989 | 364 | WrestleMania V |
| 14 | The Ultimate Warrior | 1 | April 1, 1990 | 293 | WrestleMania VI |
| 15 | Sgt. Slaughter | 1 | January 19, 1991 | 64 | Royal Rumble |
| 16 | Hulk Hogan | 3 | March 24, 1991 | 248 | WrestleMania VII |
| 17 | The Undertaker | 1 | November 27, 1991 | 6 | Survivor Series |
| 18 | Hulk Hogan | 4 | December 3, 1991 | 1 | This Tuesday in Texas |
| — | Vacated | — | December 4, 1991 | — | Superstars of Wrestling |
| 19 | Ric Flair | 1 | January 19, 1992 | 77 | Royal Rumble |
| 20 | Randy Savage | 2 | April 5, 1992 | 149 | WrestleMania VIII |
| 21 | Ric Flair | 2 | September 1, 1992 | 41 | Prime Time Wrestling |
| 22 | Bret Hart | 1 | October 12, 1992 | 174 | House show |
| 23 | Yokozuna | 1 | April 4, 1993 | <1 | WrestleMania IX |
| 24 | Hulk Hogan | 5 | 70 | ||
| 25 | Yokozuna | 2 | June 13, 1993 | 280 | King of the Ring |
| 26 | Bret Hart | 2 | March 20, 1994 | 248 | WrestleMania X |
| 27 | Bob Backlund | 2 | November 23, 1994 | 3 | Survivor Series |
| 28 | Diesel | 1 | November 26, 1994 | 358 | House show |
| 29 | Bret Hart | 3 | November 19, 1995 | 133 | Survivor Series |
| 30 | Shawn Michaels | 1 | March 31, 1996 | 231 | WrestleMania XII |
| 31 | Sycho Sid | 1 | November 17, 1996 | 63 | Survivor Series |
| 32 | Shawn Michaels | 2 | January 19, 1997 | 25 | Royal Rumble |
| — | Vacated | — | February 13, 1997 | — | Raw |
| 33 | Bret Hart | 4 | February 16, 1997 | 1 | In Your House 13: Final Four |
| 34 | Sycho Sid | 2 | February 17, 1997 | 34 | Raw |
| 35 | The Undertaker | 2 | March 23, 1997 | 133 | WrestleMania 13 |
| 36 | Bret Hart | 5 | August 3, 1997 | 98 | SummerSlam |
| 37 | Shawn Michaels | 3 | November 9, 1997 | 140 | Survivor Series |
| 38 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | 1 | March 29, 1998 | 91 | WrestleMania XIV |
| 39 | Kane | 1 | June 28, 1998 | 1 | King of the Ring |
| 40 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | 2 | June 29, 1998 | 90 | Raw |
| — | Vacated | — | September 27, 1998 | — | Breakdown: In Your House |
| 41 | The Rock | 1 | November 15, 1998 | 44 | Survivor Series |
| 42 | Mankind | 1 | December 29, 1998 | 26 | Raw is War |
| 43 | The Rock | 2 | January 24, 1999 | 2 | Royal Rumble |
| 44 | Mankind | 2 | January 26, 1999 | 20 | Halftime Heat |
| 45 | The Rock | 3 | February 15, 1999 | 41 | Raw is War |
| 46 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | 3 | March 28, 1999 | 56 | WrestleMania XV |
| 47 | The Undertaker | 3 | May 23, 1999 | 36 | Over the Edge |
| 48 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | 4 | June 28, 1999 | 55 | Raw is War |
| 49 | Mankind | 3 | August 22, 1999 | 1 | SummerSlam |
| 50 | Triple H | 1 | August 23, 1999 | 22 | Raw is War |
| 51 | Vince McMahon | 1 | September 14, 1999 | 6 | SmackDown! |
| — | Vacated | — | September 20, 1999 | — | Raw is War |
| 52 | Triple H | 2 | September 26, 1999 | 49 | Unforgiven |
| 53 | Big Show | 1 | November 14, 1999 | 50 | Survivor Series |
| 54 | Triple H | 3 | January 3, 2000 | 118 | Raw is War |
| 55 | The Rock | 4 | April 30, 2000 | 21 | Backlash |
| 56 | Triple H | 4 | May 21, 2000 | 35 | Judgment Day |
| 57 | The Rock | 5 | June 25, 2000 | 119 | King of the Ring |
| 58 | Kurt Angle | 1 | October 22, 2000 | 126 | No Mercy |
| 59 | The Rock | 6 | February 25, 2001 | 35 | No Way Out |
| 60 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | 5 | April 1, 2001 | 175 | WrestleMania X-Seven |
| 61 | Kurt Angle | 2 | September 23, 2001 | 15 | Unforgiven |
| 62 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | 6 | October 8, 2001 | 62 | Raw |
| 63 | Chris Jericho | 1 | December 9, 2001 | 98 | Vengeance |
| 64 | Triple H | 5 | March 17, 2002 | 35 | WrestleMania X8 |
| 65 | Hollywood Hulk Hogan | 6 | April 21, 2002 | 28 | Backlash |
| 66 | The Undertaker | 4 | May 19, 2002 | 63 | Judgment Day |
| 67 | The Rock | 7 | July 21, 2002 | 35 | Vengeance |
| 68 | Brock Lesnar | 1 | August 25, 2002 | 84 | SummerSlam |
| 69 | Big Show | 2 | November 17, 2002 | 28 | Survivor Series |
| 70 | Kurt Angle | 3 | December 15, 2002 | 105 | Armageddon |
| 71 | Brock Lesnar | 2 | March 30, 2003 | 119 | WrestleMania XIX |
| 72 | Kurt Angle | 4 | July 27, 2003 | 51 | Vengeance |
| 73 | Brock Lesnar | 3 | September 16, 2003 | 152 | SmackDown! |
| 74 | Eddie Guerrero | 1 | February 15, 2004 | 133 | No Way Out |
| 75 | John Bradshaw Layfield | 1 | June 27, 2004 | 280 | The Great American Bash |
| 76 | John Cena | 1 | April 3, 2005 | 280 | WrestleMania 21 |
| 77 | Edge | 1 | January 8, 2006 | 21 | New Year's Revolution |
| 78 | John Cena | 2 | January 29, 2006 | 133 | Royal Rumble |
| 79 | Rob Van Dam | 1 | June 11, 2006 | 22 | ECW One Night Stand |
| 80 | Edge | 2 | July 3, 2006 | 76 | Raw |
| 81 | John Cena | 3 | September 17, 2006 | 380 | Unforgiven |
| — | Vacated | — | October 2, 2007 | — | ECW |
| 82 | Randy Orton | 1 | October 7, 2007 | <1 | No Mercy |
| 83 | Triple H | 6 | <1 | ||
| 84 | Randy Orton | 2 | 203 | ||
| 85 | Triple H | 7 | April 27, 2008 | 210 | Backlash |
| 86 | Edge | 3 | November 23, 2008 | 21 | Survivor Series |
| 87 | Jeff Hardy | 1 | December 14, 2008 | 42 | Armageddon |
| 88 | Edge | 4 | January 25, 2009 | 21 | Royal Rumble |
| 89 | Triple H | 8 | February 15, 2009 | 70 | No Way Out |
| 90 | Randy Orton | 3 | April 26, 2009 | 42 | Backlash |
| 91 | Batista | 1 | June 7, 2009 | 2 | Extreme Rules |
| — | Vacated | — | June 9, 2009 | — | — |
| 92 | Randy Orton | 4 | June 15, 2009 | 90 | Raw |
| 93 | John Cena | 4 | September 13, 2009 | 21 | Breaking Point |
| 94 | Randy Orton | 5 | October 4, 2009 | 21 | Hell in a Cell |
| 95 | John Cena | 5 | October 25, 2009 | 49 | Bragging Rights |
| 96 | Sheamus | 1 | December 13, 2009 | 79 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs |
| 97 | John Cena | 6 | February 21, 2010 | <1 | Elimination Chamber |
| 98 | Batista | 2 | 35 | ||
| 99 | John Cena | 7 | March 28, 2010 | 84 | WrestleMania XXVI |
| 100 | Sheamus | 2 | June 20, 2010 | 91 | Fatal 4-Way |
| 101 | Randy Orton | 6 | September 19, 2010 | 64 | Night of Champions |
| 102 | The Miz | 1 | November 22, 2010 | 160 | Raw |
| 103 | John Cena | 8 | May 1, 2011 | 77 | Extreme Rules |
| 104 | CM Punk | 1 | July 17, 2011 | 28 | Money in the Bank |
| 105 | Rey Mysterio (and CM Punk) |
1 (1) |
July 25, 2011 | <1 | Raw |
| 106 | John Cena (and CM Punk) |
9 (1) |
20 | ||
| 107 | Alberto Del Rio | 1 | August 14, 2011 | 35 | SummerSlam |
| 108 | John Cena | 10 | September 18, 2011 | 14 | Night of Champions |
| 109 | Alberto Del Rio | 2 | October 2, 2011 | 49 | Hell in a Cell |
| 110 | CM Punk | 2 | November 20, 2011 | 434 | Survivor Series |
| 111 | The Rock | 8 | January 27, 2013 | 70 | Royal Rumble |
| 112 | John Cena | 11 | April 7, 2013 | 133 | WrestleMania 29 |
| 113 | Daniel Bryan | 1 | August 18, 2013 | <1 | SummerSlam |
| 114 | Randy Orton | 7 | 28 | ||
| 115 | Daniel Bryan | 2 | September 15, 2013 | 1 | Night of Champions |
| — | Vacated | — | September 16, 2013 | — | Raw |
| 116 | Randy Orton | 8 | October 27, 2013 | 161 | Hell in a Cell |
| 117 | Daniel Bryan | 3 | April 6, 2014 | 64 | WrestleMania XXX |
| — | Vacated | — | June 9, 2014 | — | Raw |
| 118 | John Cena | 12 | June 29, 2014 | 49 | Money in the Bank |
| 119 | Brock Lesnar | 4 | August 17, 2014 | 224 | SummerSlam |
| 120 | Seth Rollins | 1 | March 29, 2015 | 220 | WrestleMania 31 |
| — | Vacated | — | November 4, 2015 | — | — |
| 121 | Roman Reigns | 1 | November 22, 2015 | <1 | Survivor Series |
| 122 | Sheamus | 3 | 22 | ||
| 123 | Roman Reigns | 2 | December 13, 2015 | 43 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs |
| 124 | Triple H | 9 | January 24, 2016 | 70 | Royal Rumble |
| 125 | Roman Reigns | 3 | April 3, 2016 | 77 | WrestleMania 32 |
| 126 | Seth Rollins | 2 | June 19, 2016 | <1 | Money in the Bank |
| 127 | Dean Ambrose | 1 | 84 | ||
| 128 | AJ Styles | 1 | September 11, 2016 | 140 | Backlash |
| 129 | John Cena | 13 | January 29, 2017 | 14 | Royal Rumble |
| 130 | Dean Ambrose | 2 | February 12, 2017 | 49 | Elimination Chamber |
| 131 | Bray Wyatt | 1 | April 2, 2017 | 49 | WrestleMania 33 |
| 132 | Chris Jericho | 2 | May 21, 2017 | 170 | Backlash |
| 133 | AJ Styles | 2 | November 7, 2017 | 245+ | SmackDown Live |
Combined reigns[]
Inaugural champion John Cena, who also holds the record for most reigns with seven
The Undertaker is the longest reigning champion in history, with a record of 301 days
| † | Indicates the current champion |
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Cena | 7 | 511 |
| 2 | The Undertaker | 4 | 476 |
| 3 | Randy Orton | 4 | 364 |
| 4 | Chris Jericho | 5 | 245 |
| 5 | Edge | 5 | 244 |
| 6 | Baron Corbin | 1 | 224 |
| Kevin Owens | 4 | 224 | |
| 8 | Sheamus | 2 | 218 |
| 9 | John Morrison | 2 | 196 |
| 10 | Brock Lesnar | 2 | 161 |
| 11 | Seth Rollins | 2 | 147 |
| 12 | CM Punk | 2 | 133 |
| 13 | Christian | 2 | 126 |
| Kane | 1 | 126 | |
| 15 | Triple H | 3 | 112 |
| 16 | Batista | 1 | 84 |
| Dean Ambrose | 1 | 84 | |
| Fandango | 2 | 84 | |
| 19 | Daniel Bryan | 1 | 83 |
| 20 | AJ Styles | 1 | 56 |
| 21 | Big Show | 1 | 49 |
| The Miz | 1 | 49 | |
| 23 | Drew McIntyre | 1 | 21 |
| 24 | Luke Harper † | 1 | 1+ |
| 25 | Bad News Barrett | 1 | <1 |